Logan Paul has more than 15 million fans on YouTube with his videos watched billions of time. But the Hollywood-based vlogger came to much wider attention at the start of the year when he posted a video of someone who had apparently taken their own life in Aokigahara, also known as Japan’s “suicide forest.”
The backlash was huge and YouTube responded by punishing the vlogger, cutting his ad revenue opportunities and other contracts.
Now, three weeks after offering an apparently heartfelt apology on his channel, Logan Paul has returned with his first video since the controversy. And as you might expect, it contains none of the splashy, high-energy wackiness that helped him to become one of YouTube’s highest paid stars.
Instead, the 22 year old has been spending his time away from the web reflecting on his actions by making a short film about suicide prevention. Posted on Wednesday, January 25 and already viewed more than 6.5 million times, Paul goes on a journey of discovery, meeting Kevin Hines who tried to end his life by leaping off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, talking with Dr. John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and offering advice about how we can all look out for others more, to see if our friends or family are in need of help. At the end, he promises to donate $1 million to a number of suicide prevention organizations.
The vlogger also explains why he wanted to make the video, acknowledging that he “made mistakes” and “let people down.” But, mindful of his large and mostly young following, he also saw the episode as “an opportunity to help make a difference in the world.”
As you’d expect with an accomplished vlogger like Paul, the seven-minute video is slick and well shot, but he’s also done a respectable job tackling a sensitive subject that recent events revealed he knew next to nothing about. Critics may see his return as a feeble attempt to win back support and maintain his fan base, and only those close to Paul will know if he has truly changed. But if the video goes some way to helping even one individual experiencing difficult personal issues, then many will conclude that Paul has done something worthwhile and deserves a second chance.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Textline, free 24/7 support: Text 741741
